Ethiopia approves National Bamboo Strategy and Action Plan

INBAR News

10Sep

10 September 2019 – After months of negotiation and support from INBAR regional staff and the Dutch-Sino East Africa Bamboo Development Programme, Ethiopia’s National Bamboo Strategy and Action Plan has been developed by the Ethiopian Environment Forest and Climate Change Commission and approved by the the Ethiopian government.

INBAR’s work in Ethiopia with the Dutch-Sino East Africa Bamboo Development Programme encompasses a wide range of activities from capacity building to research and development. Developing a National Bamboo Strategy and Action Plan, approved and ratified by the Ethiopian government, is a key step towards supporting a self-sufficient and thriving bamboo industry.

Ethiopia has the largest area of bamboo forest of any country in Africa, but income and livelihoods generated from bamboo do not reflect this fact. The Ethiopian central government, with INBAR’s support, has set an ambitious target to become the leading high value bamboo producer and supplier in Africa by 2030.

Ethiopian bamboo

The Strategy and Action Plan outlines the resources, challenges and opportunities for the country to achieve this vision.

Drawing on a wide network of partners and resources, the government will facilitate:

An increase in the national bamboo area coverage from the existing 1.4 million hectares to 1.6 million hectares.

The Dutch-Sino Inter-Africa Bamboo Development Programme has supported the development of this strategy document through expert advice and communication, two stakeholder consultation workshops and a bamboo strategy validation workshop. Ashebir Wondimu, INBAR’s focal point in Ethiopia, was present at the validation ceremony and said that “this bamboo strategy and action plan will help Ethiopia to realise its wider growth and transformation indicators. I offer my thanks to INBAR’s Dutch-Sino East Africa Bamboo Development Programme with the support of the Dutch and Chinese Governments for their extensive support in stakeholder consultation workshops and in drafting bamboo strategy document.”

The Programme will continue to support the governments of Kenya and Uganda to develop robust National Plans to develop their bamboo industries, and to facilitate the implementation of Ethiopia’s National Plan as execution begins.

To find out more about the Dutch-Sino East Africa Development Programme, click here.